PROJECT HISTORY
DINE FOR DEMOCRACY began in 2018 as a response to concerns about historic voter disenfranchisement and voter suppression in the United States.
Initially called ‘DINE OUT FOR DEMOCRACY’ we organized an event on October 25, 2018 just ahead of the midterm elections to drive business to local restaurants while raising funds to protect voting rights.
With just two weeks of planning, over 40 restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area and Portland, Oregon signed on to participate. The businesses, which ranged from high end farm-to-table restaurants to local bakeries, agreed to donate 10% - 20% of one-day’s sales to voting rights organizations. The funds were divided evenly between two organizations that engage historically low-propensity voters: The National Voter Protection Action Fund and Alliance for Youth Action.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted our landscape and placed so many restaurants on the brink of closing, we altered our plan for 2020 to be responsive to the current circumstances.
From June to October 2020, on the 1st Friday of every month we encouraged people to ‘DINE FOR DEMOCRACY’ by ordering takeout or delivery from participating restaurants and making an independent donation to our 2020 Voting Fund that same day through our website.
While our 2020 campaign is now complete, we continue to engage our food partners in driving donations to support voter engagement and a more representative democracy.
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To learn more about the state of voting rights in the United States, we recommend listening to the Fresh Air interview with Ari Berman and Terri Gross and reading Ari Berman’s book ‘Give Us the Ballot,’ the Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America, which inspired us to create this project.
2018 BENEFIT ORGANIZATIONS
The National Voter Protection Action Fund
The National Voter Protection Action Fund is a non-partisan social welfare organization formed to combat voter suppression and support election protection efforts nationwide. NVPAF protects voting rights by partnering with local organizations to fund work which increases ballot access, supports voter protection mobilization, and engages in anti-suppression advocacy efforts so that every American citizen can vote in every election without obstacle.
The Alliance for Youth Action
Alliance For Youth Action is building a movement of young people, led by young people, for all people. This nationwide network of local, youth-led organizations is the premier youth vote vehicle in the United States, focusing on engaging and effective initiatives like National Voter Registration Day, an Election Protection Text Message Hotline, and GOTV efforts on college campuses across the country.
2018 PARTICIPATING RESTAURANTS
BAY AREA
4505 Burgers
Beauty’s Bagel Shop
Brenda’s Meat and Three
Brenda’s French Soul Food
Bull Valley Roadhouse
Camino
Del Popolo
Dona Thomas
dopo
Gather
Garibaldis
Homemade Cafe
Home of Chicken and Waffles
Josey Baker Bread
Little Chihuahua Mexican Restaurants
Little Star Pizza
Make Westing
Mocking Bird Cafe
The Page Bar
Pizzahacker
The Progress
Ramen Shop
Sauls Deli
Starline Social Club
State Bird Provisions
Tacubaya
PORTLAND
23 Hoyt
Bluehour
Bruce Carey Restaurants
Canard
Clarklewis
Enoteca Nostrana
Le Pigeon
Little Bird Bistro
Lovely's Fifty Fifty
Nostrana1
P's & Q's Market
Por Que No? Taqueria
Ranch PDX Woodlawn
Ranch PDX at Poison's Rainbow
Saucebox